


(All I Do) Wait

by sash4kyu (emotional_fool)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst, Based on Usher song His mistakes, Drama & Romance, M/M, Past Relationship(s), chanbaek not being an endgame, everything is from chanyeol's pov
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-31
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-10-01 08:08:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17240597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emotional_fool/pseuds/sash4kyu
Summary: Baekhyun cannot forget his past relationship. The pain and distraught it caused him. No matter how much Chanyeol loves him, he cannot seem to trust the taller.And Chanyeol is running out of patience dealing with someone else' mistake.





	(All I Do) Wait

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt # - SFY158  
> Song - His Mistakes by Usher
> 
> First of all, a big Thank You to SFY mods for coming up with this amazing fest and for being the best moderators I have come across like ever. You guys are really amazing.
> 
> A very big thank you to EXO for giving us an amazing song - 'WAIT' which fit in perfectly with this story.   
> And thanks to everyone who listened to me when I was practically dying of worry to complete this.
> 
> This is something I had in mind for a very long time, so I am really excited to share this with all of you. I hope you like it. <3

 

 

“I love you.”

 

 

Chanyeol says the words for the nth time hoping this time Baekhyun would acknowledge them. Though he himself is unsure of it and that shows in the uncertainty of his voice.

 

The warm glow from a single night bulb in an otherwise dark cold guestroom is enough for Chanyeol to see the tension in Baekhyun’s bare shoulders. He wants to touch him but he knows that the touch will be unwelcomed. And Chanyeol is not sure if he is ready for another heartbreak tonight.

 

Chanyeol looks around at the bland walls, as colorless and soulless as he feels inside even if his insides are scorching hot. Not from desire or warmth but from anger. Anger that no matter what, he is unable to direct towards the person who is the cause of it in the first place.

 

Chanyeol does not have to turn around to look at the other; to know that Baekhyun is doing it again - pretending not to hear Chanyeol’s words as he gets up to leave even when Chanyeol can still feel the traces of their love making. He does not try to stop him. It never works. He has accepted that fact. But that does not mean it does not sting every time. Every time Baekhyun leaves the other side of the bed cold and abandoned.

 

Chanyeol rarely stays the night, especially not when they both have work the next day. Their ‘arrangement’ does not work that way.

 

‘Arrangement’ - Chanyeol hates that word but that is how Baekhyun addresses what is between them; because he refuses to call it a relationship.

 

Baekhyun leaves with a bang of now closed door resounding in the guest room. He never fucks Chanyeol in his own room; on his own bed. Chanyeol feels like a cheap rent boy sometimes. The thought sits bitter in his mind for whole night, many a time. But every time, Chanyeol gives in to his love for the other thinking that one day, he would be able to break the impenetrable walls Baekhyun has built around his heart. That one day, Chanyeol’s unconditional love will get through all the insecurities plaguing Baekhyun’s mind, body and soul.

 

However, the feeling of being used never leaves Chanyeol alone; especially after these intimate moments. Where one would hope for a warm body pressed firmly beside them as their confession of love gets reciprocated excitedly. With Baekhyun, however, it has always been like this. The moment the taller says those three words, Baekhyun closes off completely. To Chanyeol, it feels like he has committed a crime instead of confessed his love. It used to amuse him previously, thinking Baekhyun was probably shy to answer or react accordingly.

 

And then, one day, Chanyeol found out about Baekhyun’s past and it all made sense. It did. When Baekhyun would not say those words back; when his arms would not wound around Chanyeol; when he would not stay back in the same bed after they make love; when he would introduce Chanyeol to his friends as nothing but a ’friend’. The latter would take it all in. Park Chanyeol, a patient man indeed; that is how his friends have always teased him. More than a year and he has been patient all along. Baekhyun wanted time to heal and Chanyeol gave him all the time in the world. He promised to _wait_. It is getting hard now though. This _wait_ is killing something inside of Chanyeol. And he is not sure if he can be that strong anymore. Not for long at least.

 

***

 

Chanyeol wakes up to an empty bed. What was he even expecting? That Baekhyun would have a change of heart in the middle of the night. That somehow Baekhyun’s frozen heart would melt and start beating from the warmth of Chanyeol’s love. He should have known that nothing of the sorts will happen though. Every time, it is the same. He sleeps with this hope that in the morning, he will wake up to a warm body nestled to his. He, however, wakes up cold and alone; with one more dent to his already battered heart.

 

Slowly, but eventually, Chanyeol drags his physically and mentally exhausted body out of bed. The room is still cold. The warm sunlight peeking through the gaps in drapes is unable to wash away the cold that has seeped into the walls of this house; just like it has in its owner’s heart.

 

Chanyeol was in the kitchen, doing the dishes after preparing the breakfast, when he hears the familiar footsteps. His heart drops. The all too familiar feeling of coldness and loneliness seeps into his bones once again. He stops what he was doing but does not turn around. When the silence stretches longer than he can handle, with a resigned sigh and slumped shoulders, Chanyeol turns around to face the other.

 

Chanyeol breath hitches in his throat as he takes a look at the man in front of him. Baekhyun still has so much power over him that it physically hurts him. His heart has been broken by this same man so many times but still his treacherous heart beats for this man alone. Chanyeol counts the moles on Baekhyun’s face as the latter tries to escape Chanyeol’s intense gaze. He has always dreamed of counting them when the early morning rays of the sun lights Baekhyun’s bare skin as he sleeps soundly next to Chanyeol. The dream has always been that only – a dream. Baekhyun never allowed Chanyeol to become more than what he was.

 

After a few minutes of staring here and there, Baekhyun finally looks at Chanyeol. He looks as if nothing out of the ordinary happened last night. And Chanyeol wants to let out a bitter laugh. He is not mad at the other. How can he be when he is the one madly in love with Baekhyun? So much that he has been waiting for the other to love him back for more than a year now.

 

‘What are we?’

 

That question has crossed Chanyeol’s mind a lot of times. Baekhyun has no answer for it because Chanyeol never got the courage to ask the other that out loud. He does not have it in him to hear Baekhyun’s answer. It is easier to keep him in the dark, assuming everything is okay; that they are okay, even if nothing is. It is easier to live this way.

 

Without him realizing, Baekhyun has become Chanyeol’s oxygen. Without the other, Chanyeol cannot function properly. Baekhyun is like a drug that is keeping him alive. And Chanyeol does not have the strength to give him up. Not yet.

 

It is ironic; because Chanyeol does not have the strength to keep going like this as well.

 

 

“I will be back late today. I have a meeting. Lock the house on your way out.” Baekhyun does not even meet Chanyeol’s eyes while speaking; just grab his car keys and coat and walks out. The breakfast plate is left cold and abandoned on the counter. He did not eat it, like usual. It is a no surprise to Chanyeol. Baekhyun never eats what he makes. But knowing that too, Chanyeol always make breakfast for the other whenever he stays the night at his place. He, then, ends up eating the meal himself instead every time.

 

***

 

Chanyeol is exhausted beyond imagination. It is always like this after one of his sleepovers at Baekhyun’s place. All he wants to do is plant himself face first on his warm bed; but that means going home and facing his mother and sister which would be a nightmare in self. Their relentless questions will drive Chanyeol crazy for sure. So, instead he dresses up to leave for work. Locking up Baekhyun’s house as instructed and leaving the keys with the front desk. The lady never asks any question but the look of pity in her eyes follow Chanyeol for days.

 

Chanyeol works as the Creative Designer in a media house and as the team leader he is always the one meeting clients over lunch and meetings. And that is how he had met Baekhyun, who was their client’ representative that time. There was spark the moment they had set eyes on each other. It was only lust initially and the rush that came with forbidden fling. But then Chanyeol messed everything up by actually falling in love with Baekhyun, who was never ready to give a name to what they were. They never ended things but what they exactly are, Chanyeol still has no idea.

 

Chanyeol is so busy in his thoughts that he does not see a very hyper Jongdae coming his way and they both crash into each other as a result. Chanyeol of bigger stature was expected to be the one not toppling over but that is exactly what happens. It is not just his wandering mind that is to blame though, his uncoordinated limbs are equally responsible.

 

“Watch where you go, man”, Jongdae is busy gathering the documents that are now scattered all over the floor when he sees who he crashed into and is about to say something very rude and snarky but one look at the dazed and still ‘sprawled on his arse’ man has him shutting his mouth in hesitation.

 

“Trouble in love life”, it is Jongdae’s way of taunting Chanyeol because he is very well aware of the ‘relationship’ Chanyeol has with his ‘boyfriend’.

 

That remark has Chanyeol snickering in annoyance and he finally lifts himself off the ground but not without toppling over the plant that stood beside him.

 

“He is not my boyfriend and you know it very well, Jongdae.”

 

Sometimes Chanyeol regrets his decision of telling his ordeal to Jongdae. But to his favor, Jongdae does inhibit a talent of extracting anyone’s deepest hidden secrets at first meeting alone. And Chanyeol of 6 months ago was so distraught that he had laid all his life history after only two drinks.

 

No one except Jongdae knows the deal that is Baekhyun. It took so long for Chanyeol alone to understand what was going on. And by the time he realized that Baekhyun came with a lot of baggage that restricted him to be in a normal relationship, Chanyeol’s family had already assumed they both were dating.

 

Chanyeol now fears facing his mother and sister. It is like every time they see him, they are reminded of Baekhyun and how Chanyeol has failed to bring him home. It is getting harder for Chanyeol to lie to his mother’s face every time she asks to meet or talk to Baekhyun. Excuses like ‘Baekhyun is busy this weekend’, ‘Baekhyun is out on business trip’, and ‘Baekhyun is shy to meet’ are starting to sound very suspicious to them. Especially to his older sister who he has been very close with since they were kids.

 

Yoora probably knows Chanyeol better than himself. And that is why the man worries a lot about how to stop them from uncovering the truth. He is not sure how will they react or what they will think about him or Baekhyun after they find out the truth. But the only reason Chanyeol has been hiding the whole thing from them is because he does not want to hurt them or their feelings or make them worried. He also does not want them to hate Baekhyun.

 

Deep down, he is worried that somehow they will convince him that Baekhyun does not love him or this relationship is not working and he feels that he might agree with them and leave Baekhyun. He does not want to do that.

 

***

 

Chanyeol knows he has to leave early once the dawn arrives because if either his mother or sister found him lurking in the home, he would have to answer their questions. Questions that he has no answers to and judging by the looks of where his ‘relationship’ with Baekhyun is headed; he is not sure he will ever get answers to those questions himself. So the only way to not complicate things further is to just keep everyone in the dark and let things go on as they are currently.

 

 

Baekhyun is like an addiction Chanyeol is unable to breathe without. He knows it is not healthy to be affected by someone to this extent; especially when that someone does not feel the same. Chanyeol knows he is in for heartbreak. He can see it even if his entire being refuses to acknowledge it. He knows that at the end of this one sided journey with Baekhyun, he would be left broken beyond repair. He had been trying to mend Baekhyun but everyday something breaks within him. Even knowing that one day he will be left an empty shell, Chanyeol still gives his all to Baekhyun.

 

Because love is like that only. It makes one blind and unreasonable.

 

 

“What are you so afraid of? Just ask him.”

 

Chanyeol wish it was as easy as Jongdae made it sound like. Asking Baekhyun to be his date at his own birthday party was not something Chanyeol ever dreamed of doing.

 

Chanyeol’s birthday is a week away and he knows his mother and sister are planning to throw a party like they do every year. But this year is different in the sense that Chanyeol is not single this year on his birthday like the past few years.

 

Yoora’s smug look is enough of an indication for Chanyeol to know that they expect Baekhyun to be present for this house party. It will not be the first time Chanyeol is asked to bring his partner. Ever since Chanyeol has come out to his family, all he got in return was utmost support. In fact the women in his house were more excited about him dating guys rather than girls. His family has always been a little weird in that way, he always told his partners.

 

It is not an easy task though this year. It is not Jongin who had been his friend for over four years before they started dating that he did not even had to ask. Jongin knew it was his birthday and had come on his own.

 

Baekhyun, on the other hand, does not even know it is Chanyeol’s birthday. The other never asked. He never asks about these mundane things about Chanyeol - his birthday, his favorite meal, his preferred season. Nothing.

 

So Chanyeol never felt the need to tell these things to someone who obviously did not care enough. Chanyeol is not bitter about it though. How can he be; when Baekhyun does not even know his own birthday? When Chanyeol had asked him for the first time, the other had brushed him off nonchalantly.

 

On Chanyeol’s constant insists, Baekhyun had finally snapped and in frustration responded that it was somewhere in between April or May. That he does not remember exactly when it is.

 

Chanyeol had stood there shocked for minutes not knowing how to respond. How can someone not know their own birthday? How could Baekhyun _not_ remember? It was beyond Chanyeol’s imagination.

 

Still Chanyeol had gone through the trouble of finding out when was Baekhyun’s birthday. He had sneaked around Baekhyun’s study once when the other had left for work to look for a document or anything that would tell him when is Baekhyun’s real birthday. There was no need to go this far, Chanyeol had wondered after wards. But something told him that Baekhyun knew his birthday but pretended not to care only because he thought no one else did. So by caring for something as simple as wishing on a birthday, Chanyeol thought he would be able to take one step closer towards Baekhyun.

 

Chanyeol had finally found out what he was looking for. Baekhyun’s study was unlocked, a feat that had brought joy to Chanyeol a lot initially. He thought Baekhyun at least trusted him enough to leave his house in his hands, with important document unlocked and in open in his care.

 

It was not trust; Chanyeol had realized a while later. It was nonchalance. Baekhyun never cared enough about what Chanyeol did behind his back - in his house or outside. Baekhyun did not care what Chanyeol knew about him or found out about him either.

 

And coming to this realization hurt a lot. Chanyeol had contemplated a lot about what he was doing with Baekhyun? Why was he making himself suffer when it was clear as day what Baekhyun thought about their relationship or rather the lack of it?

 

Chanyeol never got to wish Baekhyun on his birthday. He never got to invite Baekhyun for his birthday party too.

 

***

 

Tomorrow is Chanyeol’s birthday and Yoora has taken it upon herself to remind him to bring Baekhyun at the party at least ten times a day. It is getting on Chanyeol’s nerves now.

 

On one hand Chanyeol wants to bring Baekhyun home. He wants to have that kind of a stable relationship with the other where he can introduce him to his family; where he can freely tell anyone that he is in love with Baekhyun.

 

On the other, Chanyeol knows nothing is stable about his relationship with Baekhyun; if what is between them could even be called one.

 

Still, as a last resort, Chanyeol decides to visit Baekhyun unannounced and invite him for his birthday party. Maybe his luck would be in his favor only this one time and Baekhyun would miraculously agree to come with him.

 

 

“Don’t touch me.”

 

Chanyeol has known Baekhyun long enough to know when the anger in his voice has reached its limit. And right now, it is beyond that point.

 

Chanyeol does not know what he was expecting when he decided to come unannounced but it was nothing close to what he is hearing at the moment. He is outside Baekhyun’s door. The hallways are deserted, a thing he is grateful for. The loud voices, mostly belonging to Baekhyun himself could be heard from the outside. Chanyeol is not sure if it is the right time to intervene. But in his more than one year of being with Baekhyun, nobody has ever really visited the man. So Chanyeol is indeed a little intrigued. The shouting does not help as well. Chanyeol can hear something aside from anger in Baekhyun’s voice though. Something he is not sure if he understands correctly. Because more than anything, it appears to be fear; Baekhyun’s voice sounds scared more than angry and Chanyeol does not know how to respond to that. He does want to go in and confront the other person who is in there; wants to help Baekhyun if he is in trouble. But will Baekhyun appreciate that?

 

Chanyeol should have listened to his instinct and stayed away.

 

The moment Chanyeol steps in after entering the correct code; everything appears to happen in slow motion.

 

Baekhyun looks at him wide eyed, horror stricken for a second before complete rage takes over his features.

 

The other man looks at him confused and suspiciously; his expression nothing short of welcoming or friendly. He is not a good person, Chanyeol tells himself off-handedly.

 

“Leave.”

 

The sudden declaration startles Chanyeol out of his thoughts. With a resigned sigh he looks towards Baekhyun. What was he even expecting?

 

Baekhyun, however, is not looking at him but at the other man. And after a beat Chanyeol realizes that Baekhyun has told not him but the other person to leave. It should not have made Chanyeol this happy but it still did.

 

“What the fuck do you think you are doing here?” Baekhyun thunders the moment the other man leaves after arguing for more than a minute to not to. He eventually does when Baekhyun grabs his hand and drags him towards the front door.

 

Chanyeol is scared now. He has never seen Baekhyun this angry. They have had their fair share of fights. Baekhyun has never gone easy on him whenever they argued. But this raging thunderous Baekhyun is someone Chanyeol has never seen. It makes Chanyeol even more curious about the identity of that man.

 

_Was he Baekhyun’s ex? Chanyeol wonders distracted._

 

“I asked what you are doing here Chanyeol.” The anger in Baekhyun’s voice has not lessened. Only the receiver of it has been replaced, from that stranger to Chanyeol.

 

“I-”

 

“God, Park. You suffocate me.”

 

Something inside Chanyeol breaks then. Completely. Something he had been holding on for a while. Maybe it was love, or maybe a hope. But hearing those words, clear as water, coming out from Baekhyun’s own mouth kills everything inside of Chanyeol.

 

“Just Go. And never come back.”

 

Chanyeol’s legs almost give in at Baekhyun’s sudden words. He looks at the man wide eyed and with a gaping mouth, not understanding what he did so wrong for Baekhyun to say such a thing without any care in the world.

 

“Wh-what do you mean by that?” Chanyeol says with a voice full of accusation. His knuckles have turned white from how tight he is fisting his hands.

 

“I am breaking up with you.”

 

“And before you say something, I want to make it clear that it is all on you. You have forced me to do this. I told you to stay away. I said it at the start that I don’t do relationships. I told you to not get attached. But you didn’t listen.”

 

Chanyeol is speechless now. All words leave him similar to how the man in front is.

 

“I am not in love with you, Chanyeol.”

 

The declaration finally registers in Chanyeol’s dazed mind and the tears that he had been trying so hard to hold in escapes him. He is not ready to give Baekhyun up. But he is ready to beg Baekhyun. To stay. He wants to stay. He can wait forever but he wants to stay.

 

“Please Baekhyun. Please”, the tears would not stop and Chanyeol is unable to stop his voice from cracking.

 

A sob is lingering just on the edge and he wants to give in so bad. But he wants to convince Baekhyun first. Let everything out. Make the other see how much he is in pain. To stop him from breaking Chanyeol further.

 

Chanyeol, with shaking legs, walks forward and kneels in front of Baekhyun. His eyes red with angry and sad tears; with a trembling hand he grabs Baekhyun’s hand and the coldness of it makes Chanyeol shiver. Baekhyun looks at him with an unreadable expression but there is no softness to his features.

 

Chanyeol wants to beg to stay. He _is_ begging to stay but Baekhyun does not say anything. Nothing. As he keeps his eyes transfixed on a begging, crying and shivering man sitting on his heels in front of him.

 

Chanyeol finally gives up then.

 

 

***

 

 

 

_(2 years later)_

 

Chanyeol cannot help the fond smile that appears whenever he is with his fiancé; especially when the other is being this adorable. Chanyeol was tired and would have preferred to lounge on his couch; with his fiancé beside him cuddling him to sleep but the other had plans of his own.

 

To see the other, however, having this content smile on his face as they do something as mundane as grocery shopping fills Chanyeol with a warm overflowing feeling.

 

If a year ago someone told him that he would be engaged a year later he would not have believed them.

 

It is true what people say that ‘Love happens when you least expect it’. Chanyeol was so broken hearted after his last breakup. The whole relationship was so exhausting and then the messy emotional break up took every last ounce of his energy left. He was so emotionally and mentally drained after it that it took him months to gain himself back.

 

He never heard anything from Baekhyun after their break up. It would be a blatant lie if Chanyeol said he did not expect even a measly message from the other. Baekhyun disappeared like he never existed. At one point Chanyeol almost believed that he all but imagined Baekhyun; their unconventional relationship did not help much as well. The fact that none of his family or friends had met Baekhyun ever made everything more suspicious. There were no photographs of them together in Chanyeol’s phone as well.

 

It all felt like a dream; a very twisted and challenging dream that left Chanyeol on his knees, begging for mercy.

 

If not for the postcard that Chanyeol received almost six months after Baekhyun broke up with him, Chanyeol would have continued to believe Baekhyun was nothing but a speck of his imagination.

 

The postcard had nothing but the salutation and the envelope in which it came had a ring inside. The same ring which Chanyeol once hid in a drawer in Baekhyun’s study because he did not had the balls to give him directly, and get rejected probably.

 

Chanyeol was not sure if Baekhyun had just found the ring and decided to give back or he knew all along. Chanyeol did hide the ring in the drawer which Baekhyun opened several times a day. And the box was big enough to have not gone unnoticed for long.

 

‘But if Baekhyun was aware, why did he take six months to return it. Does this means something else!’

 

The thoughts had not left Chanyeol alone and he was on the verge of insanity; of going back to Baekhyun and beg for a second chance. If not for Yoora and Jongdae, Chanyeol is pretty sure he would have done the same.

 

 

 

Standing here, more than a year later from when he was frail and broken, Chanyeol feels a sense of pride about himself, for fighting through whatever daze he was in. And when he looks at his fiancé, he feels like he belongs somewhere finally. And that is beside Kyungsoo.

 

After Kyungsoo is done scrutinizing the piece of bread, and almost chugging it at Chanyeol for laughing at his antics, the other finally puts it in the cart and they both walk towards the checkout, hand in hand.

 

It is not yet freezing outside but the cold still chills both of them and they have a moment of argument where they both childishly blame each other for coming out grocery shopping so far away from their apartment in this cold weather.

 

As they enter the Myeongdong market though, the steam from various street food vendors cuts the coldness seeping into their bones and Chanyeol drags Kyungsoo to one of the joint to get some warmth under the disguise of ordering something. They do end up eating spicy rice cakes, a little too spicy for Chanyeol’s liking though and end up in front of an ice-cream parlor.

 

“Kyungsoo!”

 

Chanyeol was debating over mint or chocolate when the familiar voice calls for his fiancé and soon an all too smiley Sehun is walking their way.

 

“Sehun, What are you doing here? Wow. Nice to see you. It’s has been long.” Kyungsoo looks genuinely pleased to see his high school junior, Oh Sehun. Chanyeol has met the younger a couple of times and has taken an instant liking even if he fails to express that. Kyungsoo sometimes teases him for his lack of articulation senses. As if he is one to talk, Chanyeol huffs inward while observing the two sharing a laugh over something Chanyeol failed to listen.

 

Chanyeol leaves the two to their musings and returns to his dilemma of choosing the ice cream flavour.

 

“You can tag along with us if you want.” Chanyeol can hear Kyungsoo tell Sehun and if it would have been someone else Chanyeol would have been annoyed but since it is Sehun, he does not mind it much. He likes the younger male's sense of humor, to be honest.

 

“Oh no, I am here with my-“

 

“Friend.”

 

Sehun is interrupted by a new voice. A voice that Chanyeol can recognize even in his dreams. His back is still towards the duo, now joined by a new male. And Chanyeol’s mind and body has gone into a sudden shock. He knows that the salesman in front is asking him for something, probably his card for payment but he is unable to breathe, let alone move.

 

It is only when Kyungsoo grabs his suddenly gone cold hand in a death grip that the warmth from it slowly brings him back to his senses. He glances at Kyungsoo and the other must have sensed his fear as he gives Chanyeol a meek encouraging smile and nods towards the direction the other two males are standing at.

 

With one last squeeze, Kyungsoo lets go of his hand and Chanyeol already misses the warmth and security his fiancé’s touch provides him. He bravely turns around but his heart is thundering inside like a typhoon. He is confident that his face will give away his inner turmoil and he hates himself for coming across this week in face of his ex even after two years.

 

Chanyeol does not know what he was expecting but a simple quirk of the eyebrows is all he gets from Baekhyun when the other realizes who Sehun had been talking to.

 

Suddenly, all Chanyeol could see is red. He balls his palms into a tight fist until his knuckles go white. All the while thinking that how dare Baekhyun stand in front of him with such nonchalance; like whatever happened between them, whatever Baekhyun did to him did not almost ruin Chanyeol’s life. Chanyeol is unable to spot an ounce of regret or recognition on Baekhyun’s face. And he really wants to get in the other’s face and demand answers to all the questions that has been keeping him awake at nights till now.

 

Kyungsoo must have sensed his emotions because before Chanyeol could do something irrational, something he would regret later, there is a peaceful presence beside him and suddenly the anger bleeds out of his stressed tensed body like fluid.

 

“Hello, Baekhyun.” Chanyeol is thankful to hear Kyungsoo’ voice. It anchors him a little. The silence between the four of them had gone way longer and Chanyeol is sure people nearby must be whispering things among themselves. Chanyeol finally lifts his gaze from Baekhyun and look at Sehun. The younger seems confused to be caught in the middle of this drama and is glancing repeatedly between Baekhyun and Kyungsoo; probably trying to figure out how Kyungsoo know the other.

 

And Baekhyun, it mentally pains Chanyeol to even say his name in his head, is surprised by Kyungsoo’ greeting and Chanyeol clearly see the moment reality dawns on Baekhyun as the latter whips around to look at Chanyeol with what the taller can only assume as a questioning glance.

 

Chanyeol gives a resigned sigh. “He is my fiancé.”

 

Baekhyun has a faltering moment but it is gone a moment later and Chanyeol is left wondering if it was even real or he just imagined it.

 

“How do you know Sehun?” Kyungsoo asks even if Chanyeol is sure he has figured it out. Chanyeol’s gaze again lands on the youngest and his heart is filled with pity for the other.

 

“How do _you_ know him?” Baekhyun counters back the same moment Sehun asks how they all know each other. But nobody answers him; not knowing how to.

 

“He is a junior from my high school and we have a mutual circle of friends.” Kyungsoo arches his brow silently asking Baekhyun to answer his question now and Chanyeol internally prays for Baekhyun’s answer to be different than what he said before.

 

“Sehun is a friend.”

 

Chanyeol, at the same instant, sees the look of hurt flashing across Sehun’s face, a look all too familiar to him. Sehun must have not been expecting to be addressed as a ‘friend’ in front of others, Chanyeol thinks to himself. And Chanyeol’s heart aches at that; not for Sehun or himself but for Baekhyun.

 

He realizes that Baekhyun is still stuck in that vicious cycle. In where he keeps hurting himself and his partner. Chanyeol had hoped that Baekhyun’s heart would have settled by now. He thought that after hurting Chanyeol, the anger must have bleed away from Baekhyun’s being but clearly that is not the case. Baekhyun has somehow learned to live this way only.

 

Chanyeol pities Baekhyun for his inability to love. For a long time Chanyeol lived with the thought that what if Baekhyun is all changed now. What if they have a chance to be together if they meet again? But he has realised that nothing is possible between them. Baekhyun is not capable of loving someone or maybe accepting that he too can be loved.

 

Chanyeol feels bad for having these thoughts when he is engaged already. When Kyungsoo loves him so unconditionally; when after listening to Chanyeol’s story, for the first time, Kyungsoo had whispered an ‘I love you’ to him while wiping away his tears.

 

Chanyeol wishes Sehun good luck in his mind and with one final nod he grabs Kyungsoo’ hand in his and walk away. Away from Baekhyun on his own separate path to live a happy life with someone he loves and someone who loves him back equally this time.

 

 

 

 **_~_ ** **_Fin~_ **

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> It seemed perfect to end this here.  
> But aren't you guys curious about Baekhyun's feelings?


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